Court challenge over IDOT traffic safety move delayed a month

A court challenge to moving 150 state transportation jobs from Springfield to southern Illinois has been postponed.

Doug Finke

A court challenge to moving 150 state transportation jobs from Springfield to southern Illinois has been postponed.

A hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning has been pushed back to Sept. 25 to give Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office, which represents state officials when they are sued, more time to review the case.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Don Craven said Tuesday he didn’t object to the rescheduling. He is filing an amended lawsuit that elaborates on objections he raised previously and adds a new one.

“When I talked to the attorney general, I was assured that nothing bad will happen between now and Sept. 25,” Craven said.

Blagojevich wants to move IDOT’s Division of Traffic Safety to Harrisburg, which he says will save the state money and boost the southern Illinois economy. IDOT intends to buy half of a former Wal-Mart to house the employees.

The proposed lawsuit argues that the move should be stopped because Madigan hasn’t signed off on the purchase as required by law; the state cannot use gasoline tax money to buy the building; the building lies in a floodplain, which legally prevents the state from occupying it; the state failed to first seek out office space in central business or historic districts; and Blagojevich stripped IDOT of its authority to buy office buildings in a 2003 executive order.

Because of the nature of the lawsuit, a judge must first grant permission before it can proceed.

The plaintiffs hoped to get that permission Wednesday. That won’t happen now until Sept. 25.

If permission is granted, Craven said he will immediately file the suit and ask for a temporary restraining order, putting the move on hold until a judge rules on whether it should be allowed.

The Blagojevich administration has said it is confident the move will withstand a legal challenge.

Plaintiffs include Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield, Reps. Raymond Poe, R-Springfield, and Rich Brauer, R-Petersburg, Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin, the Greater Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, Teamsters Local 916, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, the Capital Area Association of Realtors and Downtown Springfield, Inc.